Bangladeshi startup Dark Kak wins award at She Loves Tech 2023

Dark Kak, a Bangladeshi tech startup that works with Augmented Reality (AR) with the Internet of Things (IoT), has won an award for their upcoming project 'Smart Jewellery'. The award, titled 'Catalyzing Women's Entrepreneurship Award', was presented by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) at the She Loves Tech 2023 conference held at the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore. Dark Kak was entitled to a 15,000 USD cash prize from UN ESCAP and She Loves Tech.

She Loves Tech is a global platform that is committed to closing the funding gap for women entrepreneurs. Since its inception, the platform has assisted over 13,000 women-led tech startups in over 70 countries.

When asked about her project, the Founder of Dark Kak, Nourin Haque Ridi, told The Daily Star that 'Smart Jewellery' is a disguised GPS tracking system that looks like any regular ornament. The user first needs to set up the GPS tracker on the 'Smart Jewellery' with their phones, and once set and activated, the device can run on its own.

The ornament has a hidden switch mechanism inside which can be pressed when in danger. After pressing the switch a call will be sent to the emergency contact of the user. The emergency contact will also receive an SMS with the location of the user.

With UN ESCAP looking over into their product's implementation, Dark Kak will now work on developing similar products for children that can track locations for parents.